Film treating and handling device



R. W. SCOTT FILM TREATING AND HANDLING DEVICE Filed Nov. 2o, 1923 June 11926. v n 1,586,710

INVE'NTUR.

Patented June l, 1926.

UNITED STATES- RAY W. SCOTT, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TORADIO LAB. & MFG'.

. COMMON LAW TRUST ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA.

1,586,710 PATENT OFFICE.

FILM TREATING AND HANDLING DEVICE,

Application led November 20, 1923.- Serial-No, 675,806.

My invention is intended, for example, to obviate resort to theexpensive hand process in the developing of motion picture film, etc.,effecting great economy, enhancing the speed of production, insuringgreat freedom from damage due to the old methods, as Well as'insuring aclean product. My invention accomplishes these objects by providingautomatic, mechanical means for handling the film through, for example,developing tanks, fixing tanks, and drying chambers, taking the filmfrom an intake reel and finally winding it, finished and dry upon atake-up reel. vantages of my invention are indicated in the followingdescription and in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, which withtheir reference numerals form a part of this specification, all yguresbeing somewhat diagrammatic, preferred details in bearing constructionbeing ,shown only in a large-scale figure.

Fig. 1 is a plan view, with preferred ,de-I tails of bearingconstruction omitted, of a machine illustrating my invention, lookingdown on Fig. 2, in which 1 and 2 may be suitable tanks for containingdeveloping solution, fixing solution, `or wash, and 3 may be a dryingoven, in all of which may be removably inserted one or more racks 4,supporting-spools suitably arranged to carry the film 5 into and outofthe tanks and oven.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the same machine, partially in section.

Fig. 8 shows a detail of the bearing for one advantageous type of shaftscarrying the pulleys 16 each shaft being removably retained in a bracket17, secured toa wall of a tank. .The pulley 16 is not shown.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the -tank 2 at A looking from right toleft showing 'a rack 4 in position, a series of spools 18 on a commonshaft 19 carried at the top of the rack, and correspondingspools'20hereinafter referred to as' semi-oating guide spools, carriedon a shaft 21 at thebottom of the rack. f

As shown, a suitable intake reel 6 may be secured to the tank 1, and atakeup reel 7 may be secured to the oven 3. Means such as an electricmotor 8 may transmit driving power to the takeup reel 7, as through thevariable friction transmission 9, the belt 10,

Other objects -and adlets, shown in part at 12 and 18, may be providedfor connecting the oven 3 to any suitable means for providing heated orotherwise conditioned air, for the production of which any of thecommercial machines for this purpose willy suffice.

Frames 4, shown in Fig. 1 as spaced apart by vertical guide cleats 57,may be substantially rectangular in elevational outline, and each may be`provided vwith a subsidiary highspeed driving shaft 22 near the lowerend thereof, this shaft being independently. engageable by semi-floatingspools 20. The shafts 22 may be rotatably mounted as' at 23 in the sidesof the racks 4; and I may provide power transmitting means therefor,such as pulleys 24 on the shafts 22. Pulleys 25 may be provided on shortshafts 26', each carrying a pulley 16, a belt 26 being employed toconnect the pulleys 24 and 25.-

.specific method of securing fixed or rotating elements in place. Thewhole may be mounty ed on a floor or the like, the motor being shown assecured to a sub-floor or platform. It is, however desirable, as in theconstruction illustrate to permit the shafts 26, carrying pulleys 16 and25, to be lifted with and by the racks 4, carrying pulleys 18 and 20,the elevation of the latter being thus roughly dependent upon theposition of the mentioned frames.

From the intake reel 6, shown as carried by a bracket 28, suitable filmmay be threaded through tanks or compartments such as the tank- 1,therein preferably passing over a first roller 18 and then forming aloop by passing undera freely rotatable and bodily movable orsemi-floating dependent spool 20 at the bottom of a rack and continuingup and down about pairs of spools substantially as shown in Fig. 4,preferably coming out at the top over the last spool 18 on a tinuingltherein in the same way, and again passing from the latter tank orcompartment into, for example, the oven 3. This oven is shown asprovided with idlers 29; and the film, in a similar manner, may advancefrom the 'idlers 29, over which the film may pass, being threaded aboutspools upon frames of general character already described, and befinally advanced to takeup reel 7, as by passing under a primary drivesuch as a feed sprocket 30.

Referring to the subsidiary driving and compensating arrangement bestshown in Figs. 2 and 4, when the driving belt 10, or its equivalent, isset in motion, as by the motor 8, this belt 10 being shown as carriedaround a driven pulley 31 on the variable transmission 9, said belt mayrun over a tightener pulley 32 in the direction shown by the arrow,thence around a pulley 3?) on the sprocket shaft 34, passing along underthe idler 35 until it reaches or passes over the first idler on the tank1, returning over all the idlers 35 in a manner favorableto the drivingof the pulleys 16, and linally over a pulley 36 on the takeup reel shaft11, thus transmitting power not only to each of the pulleys 16 but tothe sprocket 30, or its equivalent normal or primary advancing means,and to t-he takeup reel 7.

The takeup reel 7 may be of an ordinary type, having a suit-ablefriction clutch within it so that when the roll of film therein becomeslarge, a suiiicient slippage may occur to compensate for the constantrate ofA speed of the. sprocket.

In the organization illustrated, the pulleys 16 in contact with thedriving belt 10 transmit power to the pulleys 25, and thereby to thesuper-speed driving shafts 22, one of which may be provided at or nearthe bottom of each rack. Thus we have the shafts 22 available as aconstant source of power, one or more near the bottom of each tank, oneof these shafts being adjacent to and directly over each of the guidespools 20, which are referred to as semi-floating guide spools for thereason that each is provided with a central hole considerably largerthan they shaft 21, upon which said spools are mounted so as to permitthe spools to fall away from the driving shaft 22 by gravity, when theparticular loop controlled by a spool is for any reason slack. In thelatter case, the flanges 36 remain out of contact with the super-speeddriving shaft 22, as shown, and n0 pulling power is applied therethroughto a particular loop. However, if and when the feed sprocket 30, orequivalent primary advancing means, draws even slightly -upon the filmcoming from the last loop, such action automatically brings thesemi-floating guide spool 20 of this loop through the mentioned flanges36 into contact with the shaft 22; and the consequent acceleration ofthis spool may, in turn, transmit similar action to one or moreadditional loops successively, part or all the way back through thesystem nnlil finally the first loop on the intake side of the machinewill draw film more rapidly from the intake reel. Obviously, theduration of this acceleration need be only momentary, unless the film onleaving the organization is actually of a different. length than when itentered the same.

The relation of speed between the primary feed sprocket 30 and theauxiliary shafts 22 positioned in advance thereof is intended to be suchthat if any spool remains in positive contact with its auxiliary drivingshaft, the spool must be driven fast enough to move the film at agreater rate than the maximum speed established by thel feed sprocket,as may be done by giving the shafts 22 a greater peripheral speed thanthe normal speed of the fianges 3G. It will, however, be seen that onlyas need therefor may arise will the spools remain in frictionalengagement with the conditionally engageable superspeed auxiliarydriving shafts 22, because motion imparted to a spool will lower thetension thereon in the region of the frictional contact, thus makingcach loop of film throughout the system self-selective andselfdetermining in so far as concerns the motion necessary to balance itwith each other loop and to maintain the established rate of motion setup in the feed sprocket 30 or its equivalent. The need for thisautomatic adjustment of motion and tension arises in part from the factthat almost any material, when subjected to a protracted soaking andthen to a drying, must expand and contract; and it is an important meritof the self adjusting compensatory organization, just described, that itinvolves no direct frictional engagement of the surface of the film,local advance of the film being effected by an engagement of theperiphery of the submerged semi-ioating guide spool. Assuming tanks 1and 2 to contain solutions, the film, upon entering these tanks, maytend to expand and the loop while therein may tend to become undulyelongated in relationship to the loop in.the drying oven; in this case,the spools 20"in the tanks 1 and 2. which may be weighted, may tend tofall away from the driving shaft and ythus maintain a comparativelyloose driving contact., while those in the oven 3, the. loop thereinbeing relatively shorter, may be drawn into engagement with thesuper-speed auxiliary shaft and operate in such manner as lo take upslack and compensate for the changes above referred to.

It will be noted that the disclosed racks with their associated shafts,pulleys, belts and spools may be separately or simultaneously liftedfrom a tank or tanks, leaving the sufficient tov initiate movement inthe superspeed shaft 22 thereof, by means of the pulleys 16, engagingthe belt 10 and transmitting power through shaft 27 and pulleys 24 and25, connection being maintained by means of belt 26.

In Fig. 4 are shown by the dotted lines X, holes in the sides of therack 4, these holes being provided to permit the passage of a spindleupon which the racks can be turned, as in initially winding the film onthe spools,

before the racks are inserted in the tanks or compartments.

I claim as my invention: 1. A lm treating organization, comprising:primary means for advancing a film in the form of loops; bodilymovable-se arate guide spools, engaging said film in a vance of saidprimary means and about which said loops depend; and independent meansfor lmparting compensatory acceleration to one or more of said spools incase of a variation in the length of a loop.

2. A film treating organization, comprising: a primary film feedingmeans; a treating compartment in which a film may undergo a local changeinflength ;l and means comprising a super-speed drive, near the bottomof said compartment, engaging said lm in advance' of said primary meansand for locally accelerating part of said film whenever a loop of saidfilm diminishes in length and in such manner as to then increase thelength of saidloop;

3. A film treating organization, comprising: a compartment/adapted toreceive al loop of continuously advancing film and a loop-supportingframe, substantially rectangular in elevational outline, independentlymovable to and from said compartment, said frame being provided with asubsidiary film advancinv means comprising a. conditionallyv engagealilesuper-speed` shaft whose actuation depends on the positioning of saidframe. v v

4. A film treating organization, com rising: a film treatingcompartment; semioatin film-guiding spools independently movab etherein, and each rovided with means including a conditional yengageable superspeed shaft for a'compensatory acceleration of therotation thereof in :response to a contraction of a part of the film.

5. A film treating organization, comprising: a lurality of compartments,primary means or longitudinally advancing a film whilemaintainingseparate loops of the same in said compartments; andadditional advancing means comprising subsidiary drives effective onlywhen a loop diminishes to a predetermined extent, whereby the shorteningof any loop of' said film may relatively accelerate the longitudinaladvance of the same.

6. In a film treating organization comprising means for advancing afilm, the combination of.: primary driving means; super-speed drivingshafts; semi -fioating spools adjacent to said shafts engaging said filmin advance of said primary means; and means controlled by film slack forbringing said spools into driving contact with said shafts.

7. In a film treating organization comprising means for advancing a filmrelatively to dependent spools carrying loops of said film, thecombination of:v a primary driving means; spools within loops of saidfilm, subsidiary driving shafts adjacent to some of said spools whichengage said film in advance of said primary means, the mounting of saidspools permitting a bringing of the same into driving contact with saidshafts, the operation of said spool movement being determined by achange in the length of a loop; and means for conducting Vdriving powerfrom an exterior source to said driving shafts.

8. In a film treating organization com-l prising means for advancing afilm relatively to dependent semi-floating spools guiding loops of saidfilm, the combination of: driving shafts adjacent to some of said spoolsand so positioned that film shrinkage brings said spoolsv into drivingcontact with said shafts, said contact being selectively determined bythe length of a loop; and means for conducting driving power from acommon exterior source to saiddriving shafts.

9. In a film treating machine comprising racks with spools, xed pulleys,belts and super-speed shafts thereon, the combination of: means on saidracks for so supporting the same within tanks as to drive said belts andshafts when Within said tanks; and additional means thereon for somount-ing said racks upon a spindle as to facilitate the initial windingof film about said spools. I

10. Web-handling means comprismg:

means for advancing a web longitudinally RAYW. sco'r'r.

